888 Suspends VIP for Some Markets and Sees CEO Step Down

The company revealed that Itai Pazner, who held the position of chief executive officer and executive director, is stepping down from his positions with the company. 888 revealed that the change is effective immediately and that the company’s non-executive chair, Lord Mendelsohn, is taking over the position of executive chair on an interim basis. This will be a temporary measure, as 888 said that its Board will start searching for a CEO that will assume the position on a permanent basis.

Besides the senior-level change, 888 unveiled it decided to suspend VIP activities for certain markets. According to a statement released by the company, the suspension comes after an internal compliance investigation. The probe uncovered that “certain best practices have not been followed in regard to KYC (Know Your Client) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) processes for 888 VIP customers in the Middle East region.”

888 explained that further investigation is ongoing. However, the company said that in light of the first probe, the Board decided to immediately suspend VIP customer accounts for the region. Estimations showed that the impact of that segment is less than 3% of 888’s revenues which is probably why the suspension was selected. According to the initial investigation, the described failures were limited to the Middle East region only.

In addition to the two announcements, 888 revealed that its chief financial officer and executive director, Yariv Dafna, agreed to remain in this position for the whole year. Dafna was due to leave the position effective March 31, 2023, but this is no longer the case. On the other hand, 888 also confirmed that Andria Vidler will be the chair of its ESG Committee, effective immediately.

888 Remains Focused On Sustainable Growth

Speaking about the latest announcements, Lord Mendelsohn thanked Panzer for his dedication and hard work in the last two decades. He acknowledged that Panzer spearheaded 888 as its CEO for the last four years and pointed out that he played “a very important role in building a business with powerful proprietary technology and has overseen successful early stages to the William Hill integration process.”

Focusing on the suspension of VIP customers in some markets, Lord Mendelsohn stressed that the company and its Board take compliance seriously. He explained that once the investigation uncovered deficiencies the company’s Board has taken immediate and “decisive actions.” Finally, Lord Mendelsohn said that 888 is focused on sustainable growth which is why the company won’t accept any compromise when it comes to compliance.